Cyclocross is good for you - it's official

Senecio [Daniel D]

Just been reading New Scientist and I conclude there is medical evidence to suggest Cyclocross is good for you. The following appears in the current edition of the magazine:

... Preliminary findings hint that spending more time doing social sports and other outdoor activities can help restore a healthily diverse microbiome. Exposure to soil may be key, says Ownby. "We all end up ingesting between 50 and 60 milligrams of soil a day," he says. ...

So the CCA CX Champs alone count for 3 years of good health!

Nathaniel Rosa

I don't doubt this for a second.

There is also a fair amount of ongoing research on the health benefits of being within forests - 'forest bathing' - physiologically and mentally.

( https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2793341/ )
I don't profess to be able to understand or interpret a word of this study but the conclusion is promising:

These findings indicate that forest bathing trips increase NK activity, which was mediated by increases in the number of NK cells and the levels of intracellular anti-cancer proteins (Fig. 10). Phytoncides released from trees and the decreased production of stress hormones may partially contribute to the increased NK activity.

Because NK cells can kill tumor cells by releasing anti-cancer proteins, such as perforin, GRN, and GrA/B, and forest bathing trips increase NK activity and the intracellular level of anti-cancer proteins, the above findings suggest that forest bathing trips may have a preventive effect on cancer generation and development.